Reviews by BigPlay1824:

A: pours an extremely hazy deep amber color with two fingers of frothy cocoa brown head which dissipates rather rapidly and leaves a ton of lacing on the glassS: nice deep maple notes with an incredibly deep sweetness and a really nice freshly cut wood noteT: really an incredibly well balanced barleywine, begins with a really nice malt backbone with a solid woody note and a sweetness which sneaks in through the finish and lingers beautifully on the palate afterwards as it becomes deeperM: gentle carbonation tingle up front, drinks with a wonderful thickness as ive come to love in the style, finishes nicely without any alcohol burn but does have a slight sticky sweetness to it, maybe the maple syrup perhapsO: this was a really incredible barleywine, really phenomenally well balanced and delicious, really wish i had some more to tuck away although it is pretty much perfect now

More User Reviews:

Aged in cellar for 3 years.Nose: faint smoke, sugar, dried fruit, plums.Pours hazy chestnut under a 2" walnut tinted foam cap with a fine bead that persists and leaves fine lace. Some legs.Has a rich palate with dark caramel, fig, a suspicion of sherry, plum, a hint of cola and smoke. The smoke is mild - it is not to Aecht Schlenkerla levels. Finishes with a moderate bitter hop accent. Medium full body to chewy with above average soft carbonation. Even though this is classed as a barleywine it has a very Belgian feel to in in terms of texture and ration of aocohol to malt.

A gorgeous barleywine. Flawless, in fact. A near-clear burnt amber with a very persistent, moderately-sized creamy khaki-colored head. Leaves messy, irregular spiderwebs of lace down the glass. Gorgeous.

The aroma is very, very nice, which actually makes the flavor seem worse in comparison because the flavor isn't nearly as nice as the aroma. Sweet toffees and caramels, mild maple sweetness (though I'd probably name it "honey," without the obvious prompting), and a nice, hidden smoke character.

The smoke is far more present in the flavor than in the aroma, which is disappointing to me, as I'm not the hugest fan of smoke-forward beers. Sweet maple and caramels combine, along with a bit of an alcohol kick.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

Good, but I wish the smoke was tamed further in the flavor, as the aroma is quite nice.

Bottle poured into a tulip glass. Beer pours a murky brown mahogany color with two fingers of tan colored foamy head. Head dissipated quickly, leaving some light lacing and a thin collar. Some carbonation visible at the edge of the glass, rising slowly.

Nose is toffee, toasted malt, esters, and sweet woody and earthy smokiness. Not overbearingly smoky when the beer is somewhat cool.

Taking a sip, smoked malt comes through along with some of the toffee. Fairly savory on the tongue, like toffee covered bacon. Middle of the tongue, some sweet esters come through. Finish is mainly smoke, though subdued. Good balance of smoke and sweet barleywine flavors, though not super complex.

Medium body with some surprisingly decent carbonation for an 11% beer, soft and lively on the tongue. An interesting smoked beer that I haven't been completely put off by due to being overwhelmed by the smoke.

A: center-pour into a tulip yielded an amber-brown ale with red-orange highlights and a tan two-finger head; dropped lacy motes as the head receded

S: toffee malts and maple smoke

T: nice smokiness to the big malty flavors of toffee, resin; starts sweet with maple accents; very subdued hop bitterness - pick up some on the mid-palate; some alcohol slips through on the finish - this beer was probably a little more coarse when it was fresher - but now it assumes a slightly wine-like character in flavor

O: on the sweet side for an American barleywine; the maple and smoke flavors give it some distinction, and it is a fairly decadent beer: rich in sugars and malt, filling; a sipper; warms well (as would be expected) - shares some old ale/Scotch ale flavors like orange and peat, but the body is denser. A good barleywine from a great brewer. It was only a $13-14 bottle in my area (NY), and with an 11% abv, it was well-priced and I'd recommend it, particularly to those who enjoy the style and similar styles.